Wilmington Man Pleads Guilty To State Tax Charges

Date: 9/18/2006

RALEIGH – A Wilmington man pleaded guilty Monday in Wake County District Court to tax charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

Peter D. Koke, 40, of 242 Dallas Drive, Wilmington pleaded guilty on Sept. 18, 2006 to two counts of willful failure to pay North Carolina individual income taxes and five counts of willful failure to file North Carolina individual income tax returns.

Wake County District Court Judge Shelley Desvousges consolidated the seven counts and sentenced Koke to two consecutive 120-day prison terms. The sentences were suspended and Koke was placed on supervised probation for 18 months. He was ordered to pay restitution of $25,000 and to perform 100 hours of community service within the first 12 months of his probation. Koke filed his delinquent North Carolina individual income tax returns prior to sentencing.

An investigation by a special agent with the North Carolina Department of Revenue found that Koke, the sole member of Koke & Company, LLC, willfully failed to pay North Carolina individual income taxes of $1,070 for 1997 and $2,090 for 1998. Koke also failed to file North Carolina individual income tax returns for 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.

The charges against Koke resulted from an investigation by a revenue officer with the Department of Revenue’s Wilmington Collections Office and a special agent with the Department’s Criminal Investigations Division.